


3 Times Peter Saved Harley, 1 Time He Didn't

by ceo_of_lonely



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Peter Parker, Gay Harley Keener, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hurt, Hurt Harley Keener, M/M, Protective Peter Parker, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceo_of_lonely/pseuds/ceo_of_lonely
Summary: Harley is known for jumping headfirst into situations without analyzing them first. Thankfully, Peter is always there to pull him out of the waters. What happens when he isn't?
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 9
Kudos: 84





	3 Times Peter Saved Harley, 1 Time He Didn't

Harley Keener wasn't the type to think before committing to his actions. Whenever a new villain would show up, he'd be the first to find their location and try to take them down. Of course, he wouldn't most of the time. Peter would always tell him that they have to study said villain before fighting, but Harley wouldn't listen. He would say "how are we supposed to know how they fight if we don't fight them?", and, to be honest, he had a point. But, of course, Peter would never accept it. He used to be the same before he had met Harley, before Tony gave the blond a suit of his own and the two lovebirds started going out on patrol together. Peter swore to himself that he would protect his boyfriend at all costs, in and out of the suits.

*

The first time it happened, Harley had accepted he had been wrong. He was new to the whole superhero thing so he constantly followed Peter's lead. Kingpin had held hostage a small family in an abandoned warehouse and threatened to kill all four if Spider-Man and Iron-Lad didn't show. Harley, wanting to be known for his own acts and not as "Spider-Man's sidekick", went by himself to face mob boss.

"Iron-Lad," Kingpin said, a malicious grin spreading across his thin lips. Harley hovered over the floor, eyeing the family tied up to chairs wearily. He looked over to Kingpin and holy shit he was _huge_. Trying not to look intimidated, he held his chin up and puffed out his chest. "Where's your friend?" The man asked, looking around suspiciously.

"He couldn't make it," Harley replied, cringing at how small and nervous he sounded. Peter usually did most of the talking.

"And why not?" Kingpin asked bitterly, cracking his knuckles as if in preparation. Harley gulped.

"None of your business, old man. Now, how about you let this nice family go and fight me like a man?" Harley snarled, slightly shocked by how harsh he sounded. Flaming anger lit up in the man's eyes, his large fists clenching at his sides.

Suddenly, he was walking towards Harley, seeming bigger with every stride. Harley's repulsors whined in anticipation as he aimed his palms to the abnormally large man.

Let's just say, Harley wasn't winning the fight. Suit damaged, Harley stumbled to his feet, his back hot with pain.

"That the best you got?" He teased, trying to sound confident even though Kingpin only had a thin drop of blood pooling from his nose and seemed otherwise unharmed.

Kingpin started racing toward him, eyes ablaze and fists ready to punch. Harley took a wobbly step back and panicked when his back his a wall.

_Shitshitshitshit-_

Kingpin raised his fists and brought them down. Harley flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain. It never came.

The familiar sound of web-shooters filled the air, and through half-closed eyes, Harley saw a rope of web stick to Kingpin's giant fists and pull them back, making the man stumble. Harley's shoulders relaxed as Spider-Man swung into view. Peter turned and looked at him.

"You get the hostages," he ordered, voice filled with annoyance, as it should. Harley obliged, immediately flying over the where the family was tied up. He untied a woman, a man, and two little boys, not much older than Morgan.

"Are you all ok?" He asked, trying not to flinch at the frustrated screaming from Kingpin from behind him.

"Yes, I think so, thank you," the woman said, picking up one of the boys and running off, the man and other boy not far behind.

Suddenly, someone was shoving him toward the entrance. "Go, go, go!"

Harley flew up, Peter swinging hurriedly behind him, and they were off.

"Harley, you could've gotten killed!" 

Harley sunk into the couch, looking away from his angry boyfriend. Bruce finished up bandaging Harley's arm, which had received an ugly cut from the fight, and sent Harley a look that practically said 'good luck' before walking away.

"Harley, look at me," Peter said. Reluctantly, Harley glanced up at the boy's brown eyes, filled more with worry than with anger.

"I'm sorry," Harley mumbled. "I thought I could take him on, but I guess I'm not ready to travel alone yet," he chuckled humorlessly. Peter kneeled down in front of him, one hand cupping Harley's cheek and the other resting on his knee.

"No, no. It's not that, Harls. You're free to go wherever you want, you don't have to follow me around all the time, all I'm asking is that if you decide to go out like this again, tell me, ok? Kingpin's a dangerous guy, and I cannot let you get hurt."

Harley smiled and leaned down. "Such a dad," he teased against Peter's lips. Peter scoffed.

*

The second time was with The Lizard. The giant reptile had found its way to a Stark Industries gala, which just so happens Peter and Harley were at. Peter had told Harley to help people get out but by the speed in which Peter was doing it, Harley knew Peter could manage and decided that he could distract the Lizard for a while. He was instantly in his suit, blasting the creature with beams of power. The Lizard hissed and swiped outstretched claws inches from Harley's face, making him stumble back in shock. The Lizard -that little bastard- decided to use that split second to latch onto Harley with its giant, scaly hand. Claws dug through his metal suit, slowly piercing through the skin underneath. Harley's breath hitched and he tried to pry the fingers off of himself.

"Shit," he wheezed as the Lizard bared its fangs and swiped its thin pink tongue over its lips.

"Hey Curt, catch this!" Peter's voice filled the air. A small silver ball was thrown at the reptile, the contact making it explode ina ball of smoke. The Lizard dropped Harley and hissed in pain.

The smoke bomb was something he and Peter had been working on, it had a mixture of chemicals that affected the Lizard but not humans. Thank God it worked.

Harley dragged himself away, wheezing and panting and his injuries stinging. Peter landed next to Harley once the Lizard had run off, hissing and raking at its eyes.

"Harley," Peter said, voice full of uneasiness as Harley collapsed onto his chest and sighed. "You ok?"

Harley held a thumbs-up and sent Peter a tired smile. Peter huffed in relief before sitting heavily on the floor beside his boyfriend.

"I told you to get the people out," Peter said, still out of breath from rushing the guests out. Harley shrugged.

"You seemed to have it under control," he said, resting his head on his hands and chuckling as Peter glared playfully.

*

The third time had gone down with Green Goblin, this time giving Peter a bigger scare than anything else. The two had gotten in a fight and weren't on speaking terms when Harley found Norman's location.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked when he saw Harley stepping into his suit. Harley didn't reply, instead, he nodded toward the board where they were collecting information on Norman and his evil alter-ego. He turned and walked to the balcony.

"Wait, Harley-"

And he flew off.

"Norman, what brings you here?" Harley asked bitterly as the man dressed in green hovered in front of him. "You know you own this tower, right? There was no need to get in through the rooftop."

Norman glared, a vile grin pressed onto his lips as he hovered a few feet over Oscorp Tower. "I should be asking the same, Iron-Lad," he replied. "Looking for something up here?"

Harley shrugged, landing onto the cement roughly. "Just thought I'd take a little fly around the city, but now that you're here..."

Norman sped towards him unexpectedly, landing a punch right on Harley's cheekbone. Although most of it was protected by the metal mask, it made the teenager stumble back.

"Oh, so you wanna play that game?" Harley sighed. "It's really a pity-" he missed another punch. "I used to really respect you, you know?" He landed a swift uppercut under the man's chin. "But now I gotta throw you in jail."

"Good luck on that _."_

Peter arrived not long after the fight got more intense, and even though Harley really didn't want to talk to him, he was relieved to see him swing in.

For the purpose of the battle, of course.

The three fought endlessly. Whenever Harley thought they were winning, Norman would stand right back up. He doesn't know if it was because he was fighting against enhanced humans or what, but he was starting to get tired. His movements were stiff and he started dodging less and less hits, inevitably leaving him panting on the ground like a dog. 

"Harley, you ok?" Peter asked through the comms.

"Yup," Harley squeaked out, wincing in embarrassment.

"You know you can sit this one out, right?"

Harley sighed. "I know, but I don't want to."

Harley realized with a jolt that the three were inching closer to the edge of the rooftop, and it was probably Norman's idea all along. Quickly, while the man was distracted with Peter, he blasted Norman's hoverboard, making it crumble and the man collapse. He turned and glared at Harley while Peter took a little break on the floor. Before Harley could react, he was grasping onto the older man's shoulders and banging his head against Norman's. Norman stumbled, expression dazed and pained, but, in a heartbeat, he was back to normal and pushing Harley back and-

Oh, the floor wasn't under his feet anymore.

His body was falling and spinning as he tried to fly.

**POWER CRITICALLY LOW**

Shitshitshit-

Suddenly, there was a web attached to his shoulder, holding him upright. Harley swore he was gonna barf. That was, until, he saw a flash of green plummeting down towards him. Out of instinct, he reached out and grabbed Norman's wrist so he wouldn't fall to his death. He immediately regretted it.

Peter swears he'll never forget the agonizing scream that clawed its way through Harley's throat as something in his shoulder ripped.

Barely able to hold onto Norman for much longer, Harley sees stars flooding his vision. With his entire body sore and his shoulder burning with blinding pain, he passes out.

And it feels nice for a second. Being weightless and having the sound of wind rushing past soothing his pain, but when he realized he's falling, it's like his mind is separated from his body, and he _can't move_.

_Oh, fuck, this is it._

But now there's someone holding him and he's crashing through what sounds like glass and rolling across the floor. It hurts, but he's not dead. 

That someone happened to be Peter, who crawled over to his unconscious boyfriend and cradled him as if he were the only thing in the world.

"Harley," he roughly sobbed out, holding the back of Harley's limp head to keep it upright. "Harley, Harley, wake up-" he takes a shaky breath only for it to be interrupted by his own sob. " _Please_."

He set Harley down and pressed two fingers against his pale neck.

_Ok, he has a pulse._

Peter sighed and rested his head on Harley's chest, feeling comforted by the steady sound of both of their heartbeats.

"I know you don't wanna talk but-"

"I do."

Peter nodded and looked up ad Harley, his stomach twisting with guilt at the sight of his arm in a blue sling.

"I just- I'm sorry," Peter started, shoulders slumping and voice cracking. "I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday, and I'm sorry about this." He signaled to Harley, sitting upright in a hospital bed in the medbay.

Harley's face twisted in confusion, his head tilting so adorably that it made Peter's heart stutter. "Pete, you saved my life. What do you mean 'you're sorry'?"

"I don't know, I just- I should've caught you differently, or something- I just- when you screamed-" Peter paused, closing his eyes as the blood-curdling scream echoed endlessly in his head.

"Come here."

Peter walked over and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Closer."

Peter inched closer. With a sigh, Harley reached over and pulled the brunette to his chest.

"Peter," he said softly. "You saved my life. I don't know what you prefer but I'll take a torn shoulder muscle over being a pancake on the cement any day."

Peter breathed out a watery laugh. "Yeah, me too."

"I'm also sorry," Harley said, all previous humor in his eyes gone. "I shouldn't have yelled at you either, I was just mad and really tired and-"

Harley was cut off by Peter's lips pressed against his.

*

"Otto! You don't have to do this," Harley called out, holding his arms up to show he didn't have any weapons and that his repulsors were completely fried. Otto's scowl turned into a crooked grin, a beastly, corrupt grin as metal arms gripped tightly around his wrists. Harley squirmed under the pressure, biting the inside of his cheek as not to let out a whimper of pain.

And for the first time since he became Iron-Lad, he regretted ever leaving the Tower.

His breath hitched as Otto picked him up, his somewhat recently-healed shoulder straining dangerously.

He glanced over at Peter's still frame a few feet away, his heart clenching at the sight. Otto followed his gaze and his grin widened horrifically. Harley glared.

"Don't fucking touch him," Harley snarled, hoping he sounded intimidated through the anxiety and fear running through his veins.

"I'll do what I want, Keener," Otto replied coldly before throwing Harley off to the side and striding over to Peter. Harley, grasping his stomach, got to his feet, leaning against a wall for support.

Peter started waking up right when Harley called out.

" _Otto_!"

The man turned, face full of frustration and teeth clenched. "What?!"

"Take me instead, _kill_ me, for all I care, just don't touch him."

"No," a weak voice interrupted. Harley looked over at Peter, who was struggling to get up. Otto groaned in impatience. 

"Otto," Harley said. "How about we make a deal?"

Otto suddenly looked intrigued.

"We fight. If I win, you hand yourself over to the police, and-"

"What if I win?" He interrupted.

"If you win..." Harley glanced at Peter, who clearly knew what was going through his head. "You can run," he finished off, not wanting to say what he'd actually considered.

Otto shook his head. "And kill Parker."

" _No!_ No, if you win, you kill _me_ and run, deal?"

"Deal."

"Harley, no," Peter croaked out, pleading brown eyes filled with tears. Harley walked the last few feet and kneeled down in front of Peter, cupping his cheeks ever so gently.

"It's ok," he murmured. Peter shook his head, grabbing weakly at Harley's wrists and tears pooling over his eyes.

"No, no, Harley you can't win this fight, you- he has an advantage, I can't- you can't die." He hiccuped, squeezing Harley's wrists softly. 

Before Harley could reply, a metal arm was grasping at the back of his suit and yanking him back, making him roll across the floor and slam his back against the wall. He got to his feet, suddenly finding a new strength within him because Peter _needed him_ and he would not let Peter down.

So, he fought. He fought with all his strengths and all his power. By the end of it, both were tired and bloody and weak but equally determined. Although Harley had the occasional help from Peter when he found the strength to fight for a while, Otto had four metal arms shielding him from any attack.

Now, as Otto held Peter down with one arm and strangled Harley with the other, he lost hope.

 _He was going to die_.

"You shouldn't have made a deal you knew you were going to lose, Mr. Keener," Otto snarled through gritted teeth and a cold glare. Harley gagged as the arm tightened around his throat, darkness dancing across his vision and teasing him. He wheezed, pawing at the metal aimlessly, knowing the man was right. "Now," Otto continued. "I'm not going to kill you, but I'm going to do worse."

Peter writhed under the metal arm pressing down on his chest, watching helplessly as his boyfriend was clinging onto consciousness, face pale and lips blue.

Suddenly, Otto let go. Harley fell to his knees, gasping and gulping down air as the color returned to his face. After a few seconds, he got to his feet, fists closed at his sides and his stance swerving from side to side as if the simple act of standing was draining his energy.

One of the arms slashed toward him. 

Dangerously close to a whip motion.

The sickening crack of Harley's spine that filled the air left Peter breathless as he watched Harley stare up at Otto in shock before collapsing.

Peter's words got caught in his throat. 

_Oh my God._

"It's not looking so good," Bruce said sadly, looking over at Harley. "He's got a spinal wedge fracture, along with a long list of other injuries. He'll walk again, that's for sure, but recovery is long and really painful."

Peter pressed his fist to his mouth as he watched -as he'd been doing for the last six hours- the slow, steady rise and fall of Harley's chest. Pepper sighed and rubbed his tense shoulder soothingly.

"He'll be alright, Pete. He'll just need someone by his side and he has us for that reason," she said gently.

"When will he wake up? I know he's alive, but I - I just need him awake," Peter asked, glancing at Bruce so he knew the question was directed at him. 

"We don't know when exactly, but he should wake up in a few hours. Maybe tomorrow, at most. He's under heavy drugs for the pain, so he'll sleep a little more than last time he was here."

Peter nodded, letting his legs carry him to Harley's bedside. He sat down on the chair and held Harley's hand, absentmindedly rubbing patterns onto his wrist. He looked up and stared at Harley in awe. His peaceful features seemed sharpened under the white hospital lights.

"I love you."


End file.
